FLD
New Member
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2021
- Messages
- 141
Maybe it's just dumb luck.
I started expanding our new (at that time) camper's system three years ago. The camper was equipped with one GoPower 190-watt panel, a GoPower pwm 30-amp controller, and one "camper special" 12-volt battery. We ordered the camper with a 12-volt 11 cu. ft. refrigerator and the basic solar charge system was part of the refrigerator upgrade.
The following year I installed two 12-volt no-name 100ah no-name lifepo4 batteries and added one HQST 190-watt panel. It worked pretty darn nice and allowed us to do overnight off grid camping.
Last year I added a 12-volt 300ah no-name lifepo4 battery (actually the label says "Pionergy), an inexpensive MakeSkyBlue 60-amp mppt controller (I'm reluctant to call it cheap because it works so well) and a 12-volt SunGoldPower 3000/9000 inverter-charger. I don't need the inverter capacity but I wanted the 90-amp charger. Again, everything worked perfect. I'd like to add one more 300ah battery but this system can run the rooftop air at night if we absolutely need to. Another 300 amp-hours would give us a bit more cushion on run time.
This year I added two more HQST 190-watt panels, connecting the four panels in 2S2P. Everything works great.
I don't post a lot here but I read a lot, trying to learn about what works and what doesn't work so good. And to hopefully avoid the magic smoke.
I used to install avionics in bugsmashers for fun, and the cardinal rule was to have someone verify your wiring before flipping the radio master switch. I try to apply the same rule to my camper. Fresh eyes can catch mistakes. Especially as I wear trifocals. Getting old is not for wussies.
Along with that, some of the points I read about here and applied to my project are correct wire and cable size, T-class fuses, quality fuse holders, quality circuit breakers, dual pole isolation switches between the panels and scc, cleaning terminals before assembly, proper torque on battery terminals and rechecking torque on battery terminals. That's certainly not all of them but those seem to be the heavy hitters.
All in all, I'm very happy with our camper's budget system.
Thanks to everyone here for taking the time to post their "school of hard knocks" information.
I started expanding our new (at that time) camper's system three years ago. The camper was equipped with one GoPower 190-watt panel, a GoPower pwm 30-amp controller, and one "camper special" 12-volt battery. We ordered the camper with a 12-volt 11 cu. ft. refrigerator and the basic solar charge system was part of the refrigerator upgrade.
The following year I installed two 12-volt no-name 100ah no-name lifepo4 batteries and added one HQST 190-watt panel. It worked pretty darn nice and allowed us to do overnight off grid camping.
Last year I added a 12-volt 300ah no-name lifepo4 battery (actually the label says "Pionergy), an inexpensive MakeSkyBlue 60-amp mppt controller (I'm reluctant to call it cheap because it works so well) and a 12-volt SunGoldPower 3000/9000 inverter-charger. I don't need the inverter capacity but I wanted the 90-amp charger. Again, everything worked perfect. I'd like to add one more 300ah battery but this system can run the rooftop air at night if we absolutely need to. Another 300 amp-hours would give us a bit more cushion on run time.
This year I added two more HQST 190-watt panels, connecting the four panels in 2S2P. Everything works great.
I don't post a lot here but I read a lot, trying to learn about what works and what doesn't work so good. And to hopefully avoid the magic smoke.
I used to install avionics in bugsmashers for fun, and the cardinal rule was to have someone verify your wiring before flipping the radio master switch. I try to apply the same rule to my camper. Fresh eyes can catch mistakes. Especially as I wear trifocals. Getting old is not for wussies.
Along with that, some of the points I read about here and applied to my project are correct wire and cable size, T-class fuses, quality fuse holders, quality circuit breakers, dual pole isolation switches between the panels and scc, cleaning terminals before assembly, proper torque on battery terminals and rechecking torque on battery terminals. That's certainly not all of them but those seem to be the heavy hitters.
All in all, I'm very happy with our camper's budget system.
Thanks to everyone here for taking the time to post their "school of hard knocks" information.
